Cajun Tofu

Submitted by Jeri Roth Lande

"This was inspired by a recent trip to New Orleans. I wanted something vegetarian, but with Cajun taste & this is what I came up with. It's easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but tastes like you've been cooking a while. You can serve it over rice, pasta or, if you want to be really southern, grits."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon celery seed
• 5 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 (14 ounce) packages extra firm tofu, cut into medium size chunks
• hot sauce

directions

1. Mix the first 9 ingredients to make a spice mix. Set aside.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot.
3. Add onion and saute until starting to brown.
4. Add garlic and 3 Tbsp of the spice mix.
5. Stir and cook a couple minutes.
6. Add pepper and celery and cook a couple more minutes.
7. Add tomato sauce, bay leaf and tofu.
8. Mix well.
9. Bring to a boil and then simmer 10 minute.
10. Add hot sauce to taste.

Reviews

[fay hutch]

I make something similar, but I add gumbo file to mine. I also sometimes sear okra first, and add it. The key is to cook the tofu separately, get it nice and well done, and then add it in. You have to let it simmer a long time to really get the flavors melded. My hubby is from Louisiana, and I've been veganizing recipes for years. ;)

 

[SAHS7930]

I'm a big tofu buff and this sounded like a great alternative to asian-style tofu recipes. My cajun boyfriend complained that it wasn't spicy enough and I thought it had a bitter aftertaste -- courtesy the bay leaf maybe? I think that this recipe was a great idea but for us it was missing something we couldn't put our fingers on. Also, I'll suggest that the serving sizes are rather large -- we fed a family of four on one 14 oz package with plenty leftover. Thanks for sharing!